


I Went For A Walk

by Dragongirl180



Series: Gabenath One-Shots [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Abuse, Domestic Violence, F/M, Fluff, Hurt, Protective Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 12:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongirl180/pseuds/Dragongirl180
Summary: Nathalie starts acting differently and Gabriel is determined to get to the bottom of it.





	I Went For A Walk

**Author's Note:**

> I could not sleep last night and wrote this entire thing in one go. I have no clue where the idea for it came from, but I think it turned out well. 
> 
> TW: there are mentions of injury and abuse in this so please read at your own discretion.

Gabriel didn't see the signs at first. When Nathalie came to work with dark circles under her eyes, he figured she was just tired from the miraculous. When she started making mistakes in her work, he thought he had just piled her workload too high. When her voice got quieter and raspy, he suggested she drink more tea. When she started jumping at every loud noise, he did everything he could to be quieter.

The one thing he did notice was the most alarming. He had been looking out the window near her desk as he talked to her. The afternoon sun was shining right on them and it made for quite the magnifying glass for him. She had turned her head at one point and let the sun light up her cheek. He had been around models long enough to know what it looked like when someone was wearing too much makeup. 

He almost didn't say anything about it, but then he got a closer look at her. The skin under her eye was clearly swollen, even if she had caked concealer onto it. 

"Nathalie."

"Yes, sir?" 

"We have a good working relationship, wouldn't you say?" 

"I'd say so, yeah."

"And so if you were ever in trouble or needed help, you know you could come to me right?" 

"Of course. Why do you say that?" 

"Just wanted to let you know."

"Oh, well I appreciate it."

"You've done more than enough today. How about I let you off early."

"Really? Thank you so much."

It was the first time he had seen her smile in weeks. Through his miraculous, he felt the quick jolt of pain that shot through her when she moved her face. 

After she had gone home, he went to his computer and pulled up her social media. His assistant was usually a private person, but that didn't mean she was immune to posting a picture or two on her Facebook sometimes. He only had to scroll a little bit until he found a post she had been tagged in. It was someone talking about going to a fancy restaurant with her. 

Henry Gaumont. 

A quick scan of his profile told him that the man was in the fashion industry. He was a low level designer with rather hideous vision. The few pictures he could find of his work looked like they belonged in a rundown mall kiosk. The worst part of all was that he had this certain look to him. Gabriel couldn't exactly place it, but the man looked untrustworthy. 

The next picture he saw was the piece of the missing puzzle. There he was in a cheap looking suit with his arm around a very familiar woman. Her glasses were gone, her hair was down, and she was in a lovely dress, but she was still his Nathalie. The picture was only a month old and it looked like they had never interacted before then. It seemed strange that the picture was posted around the time that she had started having problems at work. 

He stared some more at the smiling man in the photo. There was definitely something about him that didn't look right, but it wasn't like he could just bring up his suspicions to her face. He decided that he would let her come to him if she needed it. She was an adult after all. 

* * *

A week later things seemed to get worse. He had listened to the non-stop buzzing of her phone for over 20 minutes. She had been trying to ignore it, but soon she broke and asked him if she could step out and take a call. He'd allowed it of course, but found himself leaning against his office door in order to catch a bit of the conversation. 

"Henry, I told you I was at work. I can't just take calls whenever I want."

"That's because you were blowing up my phone. I'm lucky my boss didn't get annoyed with the buzzing and throw it out the window."

"Excuse me?" 

"No don't do that. I heard you say it. What about my boss?" 

"You're still on about that? No I haven't done anything of the sort."

"He is my boss, that is extremely unprofessional and I can't believe you would think me capable of such a thing."

"Don't call me that!"

"Look I don't have time for your little tantrums ok? I need to work. Goodbye."

He scrambled back to his computer and pretended to busy himself with a blank screen when she came back in. There was a slump in her shoulders and her eyes seemed dull. Whatever that man had said had really gotten to her. 

"I trust the call was nothing too serious," he said nonchalantly. 

"Just my sister. She wanted to get my opinion on something."

"Ah."

He kept his face on his screen, but he watched out of the corner of his eye as she discreetly wiped a tissue across her face. That bastard had made her cry! He wanted nothing more than to confront her about it, but he remained quiet. She could handle herself. 

* * *

It was one of the random nights in which they both stayed at the office late, to try to catch up on some things they had fallen behind in. He had only expected to sign some documents and send her on her way, but she had other things in mind.

"Sir, I was wondering if we could talk."

She set some papers on his desk, prompting him to look up. Her eyes were already brimming with tears.

"Nathalie, what in the world is wrong?" 

"I just…I don't know anymore."

She sniffed and wiped an eye delicately, embarrassment floating around her in a thick cloud. He pushed the papers aside and stood up immediately. Nothing could've prepared him for what happened next. He had only meant to pull her into a hug to console her, but when his arms wrapped around her, she cried in pain. She stepped back considerably, her arms wrapped around herself protectively. What the hell was that about? 

"Nathalie, are you ok?" 

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry. It's the miraculous, you know how it affects me sometimes."

"It's never caused you to scream when people touch you. There's something else, isn't there?" 

She looked away, shame clearly etched across her features. When her arms tightened around her body, he suddenly had a sneaking suspicion about what was ailing her. He approached her slowly, but made sure to appear as least threatening as possible. 

"Nat, you can tell me anything."

"It's embarrassing."

"I don't care. I've seen a lot in my lifetime."

"You'll think differently of me."

"Now that's a lie and you know it. I'd never think different of you no matter what. You mean the world to me."

That flipped a switch in her. It was as if her walls broke down all at once and her real emotions sprung forward. He could feel her sadness and pain burst forth with a vengeance. This woman had been holding back a lot. He pulled a chair over to his desk and had her sit down. After she calmed herself, she began to finally open up. 

"I met this guy a while back. Henry. He was showing his designs in one of the buildings I was attending a meeting in. He talked to me for a while and said we should get a coffee sometime. I usually wouldn't date someone in the industry like that, but he seemed so nice. We went out a few times and then we started dating I guess. But that's when…"

"Go on, it's ok."

"He started acting differently. It started with little off handed comments about me. Then it escalated to him getting angry over very small things. The first time he hit me, I was in shock."

Gabriel felt his fists clench in his lap. So he had been right about the makeup around her eye. Something told him he was going to be right about why she freaked out about the hug as well. 

"How many times has he hit you?"

Her eyes flicked up at the ceiling before she dropped them back down to her shoes. 

"Once or twice…only when I really make him mad."

"I know you look up before you lie."

"You're too observant."

"Please, I want to be wrong about why the hug hurt you."

"Then you're going to be mad…"

He furrowed his brows in concern at the woman before him. A long silence passed between them before he could find his voice again.

"I want to see."

Every movement was a painful struggle as she shrugged off her blazer, her eyes never leaving the floor. He was actually taken aback when she slipped the turtleneck over her head and dropped it near her feet. 

His eyes raked over her as she stood there in her bra, but it was anything but sexual. From her shoulders to her hips, her skin was littered with large dark bruises. Even her delicate arms had not been spared. He walked around her and found more across her back. Between them there were several small scratches as well. 

"Are there more below your hips?" 

"Yes."

He closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing. Thank God there was nothing nearby for him to break. 

"Nathalie what the fu-" 

"No no its ok. Don't freak out. They don't even hurt that much."

"Screw that! You're covered in bruises. You're not ok."

"It was a one time thing!" 

"Why did he do this then? Enlighten me," he growled. 

"He's convinced that I have a physical relationship with you. A few days ago when you needed Mayura, I got home late and he was waiting outside for me. He tried to say he had only been worried, but when we got inside…"

"You don't have to go into detail."

"He just snapped, I don't know what I did."

"You didn't do anything. That man is the scum of the Earth and he's lucky to even be able to breathe the same air as you."

He reached down to pick up her clothes and hand them back to her. She wordlessly put them back on, avoiding his gaze the entire time. 

"Nathalie I can feel shame coming from you. Don't do that. You are not at fault here. Don’t think that you need to protect him or try to justify his actions."

"I'm sorry. This is going to reflect so poorly on the brand."

"Shhh no it isn't. Now go home and get some rest. You really need it. And don't message him, I will handle everything!" 

"I'll try not to, sir. Thank you…for all of this. I feel better after talking."

"I'll always be here for you."

"I know."

* * *

He wasted no time after she left and quickly made his way to his lair. His kwami was by his side in an instant, alerted by the rage burning the air around them.

"Nooroo I think it's time we taught this piece of trash a lesson, don't you think?"

"While I usually wouldn't condone using the miraculous for these purposes, tonight I can make an exception," he said, floating beside him. 

"Dark wings rise." 

Finding him in the phone book had been a breeze and he was easily able to sneak his way right into the man's living room. He hadn't expected to find him in bed with another woman, but he couldn't say he was surprised. She screamed as he reached forward and yanked the (thankfully clothed) man out of bed. 

He picked the roof of a very high office building upon which he would interrogate this trash. He found the man's terror to be quite intoxicating as he looked down at the cars below. 

"H-hawkmoth?! Please, what do you want? I'll do whatever, just don't kill me."

"Kill you? No that would be letting you off way too easy. Your crimes are much more serious than that."

"Huh?"

"I may be a villain, but I still cannot live with men who think women are disposable. Did you really think that you could get away with all of this?"

"Look you've got the wrong guy."

"Oh I do now? So the name Nathalie doesn't ring any bells."

He saw the man's eyes widen with recognition and he knew he had trapped him. 

"Her? She's wonderful. An absolute gift. I would never do anything to hurt her!"

"So I assume you just use her as a punching bag because you love her. Is that it?"

"I uh…I don't." 

"Save your little excuses for someone who cares."

"I'm sorry ok! I just needed an outlet for my anger and she was right there."

That was not the right thing to say and he unfortunately didn't realize it until it was too late. Hawkmoth audibly cracked his knuckles as he strode toward him, his eyes blazing with rage. 

"Let's see how you like being the punching bag," he said in an almost demonic tone.

* * *

Only later did he get a text from her. 

**Nathalie**: Sir, did you do anything interesting tonight?

**Gabriel**: I went for a short walk, but other than that I was at home. Why?

**Nathalie**: It's nothing, don't worry 

**Gabriel**: How can I not worry about my best friend? 

**Nathalie**: You're too kind

**Gabriel**: Anything for you :) 

**Nathalie**: Very cute 

**Gabriel** : I try _ very _ hard. Now get some sleep Miss Sancoeur 

**Nathalie**: Will do, Mr. Agreste

* * *

The next day he was pleased to find a peculiar email in his inbox. It had been sent out to anyone who mattered and featured a video of one Henry Gaumont looking haggard and downcast. He smirked as he watched the man admit to abusing women and trying to make his way to the top of the pecking order by going after the assistant of a certain fashion hawk. 

Luckily he'd made it clear to the man that Nathalie barely even knew him so exposing his identity was near impossible. He glanced down at his bruised knuckles proudly. That man would never work in Paris again and he'd most certainly never find another date with any woman who had eyes. 

When he heard the front door close, he stepped in front of his computer in order to have the best view of her face as she came into the office. He stood with his hands behind his back to keep himself from fidgeting, a childish grin that had spread across his face was threatening to never leave. She took a moment to register what she was seeing as the door closed behind her. 

Her entire desk was filled with dozens of flower arrangements. There were roses, carnations, lilies, hibiscus, daisies, orchids, and more. It looked like an exotic plant nursery right here in the corner of his atelier. 

"Sir, what's all this?" 

"Just something to show you how much I appreciate you. I don't do that enough."

She walked over and smelled a few of them while her fingers traced over the intricate design on one of the vases. Her lips twitched into a smile. 

"They're absolutely lovely. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Nat."

He wasn't even sure he was thinking straight when he walked forward and pulled her into a gentle hug. She audibly dropped her bag, but did nothing to pull away like last time. In fact, she returned his hug. He heard her breathe out a small sigh of relief as she pressed her face into his chest. 

The jewel at his throat pulsed with an emotion he had never felt from her before. Comfort. His heart leapt at the fact that she felt safe and secure in his arms. He wanted her to always feel like that with him. 

"I'm never letting that happen to you again. You deserve to be treated like a queen."

"Sir…" 

"I mean it." 

He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head toward his. Her blue eyes were even more gorgeous than usual at this distance. It was like looking into his very own ocean. 

"You're my Nathalie and if any man ever thinks of laying a finger on you, I will make sure they regret that."

"Thank you," she said quietly. 

He could see the tears starting to pool in her eyes. Even happy ones were not welcome to him. She didn't deserve to cry at all. His arms snaked around her once more as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. That earned him a quick burst of happiness from her. 

This was where she was meant to be, in his arms and loved. He couldn’t fathom how any person could look at her and decide to hurt her. That was the end of that for sure. Gabriel would always be there for her and, permitting she needed it, Hawkmoth would be too. He loved her too much to allow anything less.

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter of This Isn't What I Wanted is on the way but I've taken to writing two chapters for it at once so it's taking more time.


End file.
